IN YOUR OPINION

Letters to the editor for Nov. 24, 2012

Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 23, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.

Besmirching Blair

Where has common decency gone? What has happened to our values, ethics and fairness that derived from the Christianity that led our Founding Fathers to establish the greatest nation the world has ever known? Have the greedy, power-hungry people become so desperate that they resort to rumors for "character assassination" in order to accomplish their own agenda for control and power?

While all hell is breaking out in the Mideast, the Star-Banner chose to headline intimations, innuendos surrounding the election victory celebration of Chris Blair at the Livestock Pavilion. How despicable. There were no formal, printed invitations; it was open to the public and many hundreds of people attended.

With all of the crowds of people, why was only one person singled out to write about — the one person who abolished Dan Kuhn's dubious success? If your reporting is so good and thorough, why were all of the many fine and noble acts of Chris Blair over the years not even mentioned? Not only that, but as he greeted his joyous well-wishers, whom he was feeding, he had also established a food drive for Brothers Keeper, and another drive for breast cancer, as he has done for years. His lovely, cheerful wife is a breast cancer survivor.

But, oh no, your reporter seemed to want to degrade his fine reputation based on sordid actions of others. For what purpose?

Our Star-Banner deliberately dragged Chris into this disgusting mess. In my opinion, he does not, nor does anyone, deserve this.

V. V. Morlock

Ocala

School and Veterans Day

It has been brought to my attention that students in Marion County don't get Veterans Day off. And it puzzles me. We get Memorial Day off but not Veterans Day?

If we go to school on Veterans Day to learn more about it, then there must be a mistake. As long as I have been in school, my class has never been taught, discussed or even acknowledged Veterans Day. Sure, there might be a brief announcement on the board saying "Veterans Day," but that's about it.

Quite frankly, the teachers I have barely have the time to put aside the planned lesson to teach us about Veterans Day. Wouldn't it just be easier for us students to be at home enjoying the freedom veterans fought for?

Garrett Williams

Ocala

FDA, Star-Banner are both wrong

The Star-Banner editorial "Finger-pointing" is riddled with errors, rendering it a disservice to the newspaper's readers.

Exhibiting apparent political bias, the Banner attempts to blame the Congress for the fatalities and illnesses resulting from the recent meningitis outbreak.

Here are the facts: In 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found egregious quality control problems at the New England Compounding Center (NECC). In 2006, the FDA sent a warning letter to NECC threatening to shut it down if it failed to comply. At that time, the FDA believed it had the authority to act and if the FDA had exercised that authority in 2006, this outbreak would have been prevented.

The FDA's commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, now claims the FDA lacks authority. This is ridiculous. The NECC was a manufacturing pharmacy and was shipping its products nationwide, putting it clearly under FDA authority. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005-07 and Sheldon Bradshaw, FDA's chief counsel during that same period, disagree strongly with Hamburg.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Nov. 13, they stated unequivocally that FDA did have enough authority and could have acted but chose not to because of FDA's desire to regulate "the full scope of the practice of pharmacy." Dr. Gottlieb and Mr. Bradshaw went on to state that NECC was violating the law by manufacturing unauthorized generics of FDA approved drugs and distributing them for a large scale market without first receiving prescriptions for unique individual drugs. And it was these illegal actions, which FDA was aware of, that "put the NECC firmly in violation of FDA rules — if the agency had chosen to enforce existing provisions."

The Banner could have stuck to the facts, but instead used this editorial to make a political attack on a legitimate case for professional accountability. Instead of illuminating the situation for its readers, the Banner pursued a partisan agenda to the detriment of its readers.

Cliff Stearns

U.S. representative

Washington, D.C.

Oil king?

The media are telling us we will soon produce more oil than any other country. Now that is good news! Today in Saudi Arabia a gallon of gas is 91 cents and in Venezuela it's just 12 cents. Does that mean we could be paying in the range of 50 cents a gallon? Happy days could be here again.

However, I don't think I'll put a wager on it like I did the election.

The American dream might just wind up being that.

Monty Davis

Ocala

The end is near

Load up on ammo and stock those bunkers! The apocalypse is upon us!

Those liberals will make it illegal for nut jobs to buy AK-47s, so we better make a gun run now. Lazy poor people will live their care-free lives stealing from us in the new socialist order.

We have failed to make everyone abide by our unquestionable mythology and moral superiority. We have let facts interfere with our righteous judgment. We can only hope the religious and corporate overlords whom we have displeased will battle the liberal anti-Christ to the end of the world.

No, my fellow paranoids, this is not a drill. End of the world sandwich boards will be available at wingnutgetagrip.lol.

<p><b>Besmirching Blair</b></p><p>Where has common decency gone? What has happened to our values, ethics and fairness that derived from the Christianity that led our Founding Fathers to establish the greatest nation the world has ever known? Have the greedy, power-hungry people become so desperate that they resort to rumors for "character assassination" in order to accomplish their own agenda for control and power?</p><p>While all hell is breaking out in the Mideast, the Star-Banner chose to headline intimations, innuendos surrounding the election victory celebration of Chris Blair at the Livestock Pavilion. How despicable. There were no formal, printed invitations; it was open to the public and many hundreds of people attended.</p><p>With all of the crowds of people, why was only one person singled out to write about — the one person who abolished Dan Kuhn's dubious success? If your reporting is so good and thorough, why were all of the many fine and noble acts of Chris Blair over the years not even mentioned? Not only that, but as he greeted his joyous well-wishers, whom he was feeding, he had also established a food drive for Brothers Keeper, and another drive for breast cancer, as he has done for years. His lovely, cheerful wife is a breast cancer survivor.</p><p>But, oh no, your reporter seemed to want to degrade his fine reputation based on sordid actions of others. For what purpose?</p><p>Our Star-Banner deliberately dragged Chris into this disgusting mess. In my opinion, he does not, nor does anyone, deserve this.</p><p><i>V. V. Morlock</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><b>School and Veterans Day</b></p><p>It has been brought to my attention that students in Marion County don't get Veterans Day off. And it puzzles me. We get Memorial Day off but not Veterans Day?</p><p>If we go to school on Veterans Day to learn more about it, then there must be a mistake. As long as I have been in school, my class has never been taught, discussed or even acknowledged Veterans Day. Sure, there might be a brief announcement on the board saying "Veterans Day," but that's about it.</p><p>Quite frankly, the teachers I have barely have the time to put aside the planned lesson to teach us about Veterans Day. Wouldn't it just be easier for us students to be at home enjoying the freedom veterans fought for?</p><p><i>Garrett Williams</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><b>FDA, Star-Banner are both wrong</b></p><p>The Star-Banner editorial "Finger-pointing" is riddled with errors, rendering it a disservice to the newspaper's readers.</p><p>Exhibiting apparent political bias, the Banner attempts to blame the Congress for the fatalities and illnesses resulting from the recent meningitis outbreak.</p><p>Here are the facts: In 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found egregious quality control problems at the New England Compounding Center (NECC). In 2006, the FDA sent a warning letter to NECC threatening to shut it down if it failed to comply. At that time, the FDA believed it had the authority to act and if the FDA had exercised that authority in 2006, this outbreak would have been prevented.</p><p>The FDA's commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, now claims the FDA lacks authority. This is ridiculous. The NECC was a manufacturing pharmacy and was shipping its products nationwide, putting it clearly under FDA authority. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005-07 and Sheldon Bradshaw, FDA's chief counsel during that same period, disagree strongly with Hamburg.</p><p>In a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Nov. 13, they stated unequivocally that FDA did have enough authority and could have acted but chose not to because of FDA's desire to regulate "the full scope of the practice of pharmacy." Dr. Gottlieb and Mr. Bradshaw went on to state that NECC was violating the law by manufacturing unauthorized generics of FDA approved drugs and distributing them for a large scale market without first receiving prescriptions for unique individual drugs. And it was these illegal actions, which FDA was aware of, that "put the NECC firmly in violation of FDA rules — if the agency had chosen to enforce existing provisions."</p><p>The Banner could have stuck to the facts, but instead used this editorial to make a political attack on a legitimate case for professional accountability. Instead of illuminating the situation for its readers, the Banner pursued a partisan agenda to the detriment of its readers.</p><p><i>Cliff Stearns</p><p>U.S. representative</p><p>Washington, D.C.</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><b>Oil king?</b></p><p>The media are telling us we will soon produce more oil than any other country. Now that is good news! Today in Saudi Arabia a gallon of gas is 91 cents and in Venezuela it's just 12 cents. Does that mean we could be paying in the range of 50 cents a gallon? Happy days could be here again.</p><p>However, I don't think I'll put a wager on it like I did the election.</p><p>The American dream might just wind up being that.</p><p><i>Monty Davis</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><b>The end is near</b></p><p>Load up on ammo and stock those bunkers! The apocalypse is upon us!</p><p>Those liberals will make it illegal for nut jobs to buy AK-47s, so we better make a gun run now. Lazy poor people will live their care-free lives stealing from us in the new socialist order.</p><p>We have failed to make everyone abide by our unquestionable mythology and moral superiority. We have let facts interfere with our righteous judgment. We can only hope the religious and corporate overlords whom we have displeased will battle the liberal anti-Christ to the end of the world.</p><p>No, my fellow paranoids, this is not a drill. End of the world sandwich boards will be available at wingnutgetagrip.lol.</p><p><i>Gary Lasby</p><p>Ocala</i></p>